Anoa called potential killer

KENDARI, Southeast Sulawesi: An Australian animal conservation expert said yesterday that the native anoa (small buffalo) could go on a killing spree like the "killer tiger" in Lampung, Sumatra.

The killer tiger, facing a dwindling habitat, reportedly ate two people in Lampung and is now being kept at the Taman Safari park in Bogor, West Java.

The Australian expert, Chris Majors, told Antara that locals had not been attacked by an anoa but it was possible due to the animal's shrinking habitat because of logging, plantations and transmigration.

"I am not suggesting that these are bad activities, but these interests have to be sensible about determining the locations of their activities so they do not become a boomerang for the anoa," Majors said.

He said the animals were highly sensitive to changes in their natural habitat and that they had to live away from logging, plantations and transmigration camps.

The anoa is only found in the Wallacea area.

"The anoa population in Sulawesi today is 5,000 compared to 50,000 in the 1950s. The decline is due to dwindling habitat and illegal hunting," he said.

Majors said their should be public awareness programs about the need to maintain the habitat of the anoa and other animals instead of putting them in captivity, which undermined conservation efforts.

"This would create new problems for the anoa, which cannot be tamed and would feel burdened if exposed to factors that it is not accustomed to," he said.

He said the most effective way to save the anoa was for the government to increase forest reserves that made up its habitat. (01)